A team of surgeons worked for more than five hours to remove the blades from the unnamed male patient's stomach after he eventually admitted to his unusual snack; Dr Jatinder Malhotra, managing director of The Corporate Hospital in the north-west region of Amritsar, said: "In my 20 years of practice, this is the most dreadful surgery I have ever seen or done."

The man, who works as a police officer, told The Times Of India that when it came to eating metal objects, he just couldn't help himself.

Doctors suspect he could have an eating disorder known as Pica; sufferers find themselves with an uncontrollable appetite for "non-nutritive substances" such as metal, glass, paint, human hair and even chemicals.